Jaguar C-X75 to be James Bond Spectre Villain’s Ride

By now, almost everyone knows what James Bond will be driving in the upcoming Spectre, the 24th installment in the Bond movie franchise. The famous fictional spy will again drive an Aston Martin, this time a particularly special Aston Martin—it is the DB10, a car made specifically for the movie. But Bond is not the only one driving a super cool car in the film. It was recently revealed that the movie’s villain, Franz Oberhauser, will have the Jaguar C-X75 as his ride.

Autocar UK reported that Jaguar’s canceled hybrid supercar project would be the official ride of 007’s nemesis, played by Christoph Waltz. According to the website’s sources, a team is working on a number of C-X75 prototypes and modifications are being made to make these suitable for filming use.

The C-X75 was created to mark the 75th anniversary of Jaguar. The concept debuted at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, where it was named “Best in Show” by Autoweek magazine. It was also honored with the 2010 Louis Vuitton Classic Concept award. The British automaker considered putting the supercar concept into production, but eventually canceled the project about two years ago.

The C-X75 concept was a hybrid, but the car that will be making its appearance on the big screen is not. Autocar said that the original hybrid powertrain (which featured four electric motors as well as diesel-powered gas turbines) will be replaced with Jaguar’s supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine.

Jaguar would not confirm its involvement in the movie, but it also did not deny reports regarding the C-X75. The automaker simply said that official announcements will be made next year.

Jaguar may be staying mum for now, but there are some things that seem to hint at its role in the upcoming Bond flick. As many media outlets already pointed out, providing the Spectre villain’s car is a fitting move for the company, which is behind the “Good to be Bad” advertising campaign. In the said campaign, Jaguar markets the F-Type coupe as an ideal ride for British villains. The ads featured actors Tom Hiddleston, Ben Kingsley and Mark Strong as the “villains.”

While Waltz is Austrian and not British, Jaguar’s involvement in Spectre would still be fitting, considering the actor’s strength in portraying bad guys.

This would not be the first time a Jaguar vehicle would be featured in a Bond movie. Just like Aston Martin, the automaker has a history with the movie franchise. The Jaguar XKR was the villain’s ride in 2002’s Die Another Day. 2006’s Casino Royale featured the XJ8 and XJR, and 2012’s Skyfall showcased the current model XJ.